Soon after the recent tragedy in Flordia occurred, gun control advocates began to flood social media yelling at politicians to restrict access to firearms to prevent a tragedy like this from occurring. They claim that the pro-2nd Amendment politicians all have blood on their hands, and they won’t do anything to stop another senseless tragedy due to taking large amounts of money from the NRA. And who can blame them? A firearm owner just took the lives of seventeen kids. Of course, people are going to be emotional about it. And of course, politicians who refuse to do something are child-killers!

This way of thinking is exactly why every time we have this debate it leads nowhere. Both sides currently have an issue where we refuse to attempt to understand the motivation behind the other side’s position. Both sides want to work towards the same goal of preventing senseless murders. The left refuses to understand that the right views the 2nd Amendment as important as the right to free speech. It is the only method that people have to defend against government tyranny. The right refuses to understand that the left doesn’t have malicious intent when they want to restrict access to guns.

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When we begin to assume the worst intent for our political opponents, we fail to attempt to reach a compromise. This had led to some on both sides to have extreme views. For example, Newt Gingrich recently stated that that the only long-term solution to school shootings is arming teachers, a “long-term solution” which I believe hurts more than helps. Some on the left have also fallen to extreme views. For example, a billboard was recently vandalized by the anti-Trump group Resist 45, which read “Kill The NRA.”

Luckily, compromises and solutions both sides could believe in have risen. For example, a recent measure proposed by David French in the National Review seems to have gained popularity. French proposes the gun-violence restraining order or GVRO. This measure could temporarily take away someone’s gun after enough evidence is shown that proves they are unfit to carry. This is a compromise that both sides should agree on. It can save lives while protecting the inalienable 2nd Amendment. Hopefully, more solutions like the GVRO will arise in the near future.